Now or Never
by chickadee77
Summary: RH DESPITE SUMMARY..Sequel..Draco was sent to Azkaban for killing his father...but what if he gets out? Hermione is pregnant with his child and Draco wants the baby.
1. Authors Note

Ok sorry if the first chapter is an author note but the one with the story is right after this one anyway. **This is a sequel to another fic** I wrote called "My Biggest Mistake". I would've put it in the summary but it wouldn't fit.  If you still want to read this fic though, you **could** read this without reading the first one but I suggest you at least read:

Chapter 9

Chapter 16 and/or 17

Chapter 24 and 25

Chapter 27

Those are the most important parts that I could think of. You don't have to read it but I think it would help you understand the story better. Ok I'm done blabbing now…you can press the arrow now ehehe.


	2. That's all?

A/n: Hello! Well here it is, the sequel to My Biggest Mistake. Hope you enjoy it! 

Disclaimer: I own nothing…except characters or things that aren't in the books. 

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**Now or Never**

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**Chapter one**

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            "Harry!" Hermione squealed when she opened the door to her middle-sized home. "I'm so glad to see you!" She wrapped her arms around a tall, handsome boy who was standing in front of her. 

            "Hey Hermione." The boy chuckled.

            Hermione kissed him on the cheek (a friendly kiss of course), then gasped. "You shaved this morning didn't you?"

            "Uh…" Harry looked at her, not sure of what to say.

            "I can tell because father's cheek feels the same way when he shaves." Hermione giggled. She led him to her cozy living room.

            Harry smiled at her and noticed that her chocolate brown eyes were trying to deceive him. She was acting all happy and such but he could tell something was deeply troubling her. Hermione was already seven months pregnant and she was quite big in the middle section. 

            "What's wrong?" He asked.

            "What do you mean?" Hermione replied, trying to force a smile. Harry stared at her and she sighed. "I knew you'd be able to notice sooner or later..." She looked out the window. She quickly told Harry about what happened on the day she got back from her 7th year.

****Flashback****

**_"So it **is** true! You **ar**e pregnant!" Mrs. Granger gasped when she saw Hermione walking towards them, carrying her luggage._**

_            "Professor McGonagall wrote to us and told us about – **this** – and I'm very, very disappointed in you." Mr. Granger said sternly. He gave Hermione a cold stare._

_            "Mum, Dad, I can ex -" Hermione began._

_            "Explain? What else is there to explain? It's here now, what else can we do about it?" Mrs. Granger spat. "You know how I'm terribly against abortion…"_

_            "And who was it with? Ron? I knew that bloke had a wild side in him, but I didn't think it was **that wild!"" Mr. Granger guessed. He took Hermione's trunk and they made their way to their blue minivan. **_

_            Hermione suddenly felt a surge of anger inside her. "No it wasn't Ron ok! Ron had nothing to do with it. If you'd only listen to me first before making assumptions maybe you would know the real story!"_

_"Is it Harry then?"  Mr. Granger started up the car and they began to move. "I thought that young man looked pretty decent to me though…"_

_"NO! It wasn't Harry or Ron! They had nothing to do with it! They've been very _

_supportive since day one." Hermione answered, trying to stay calm._

_"Hermione, we expected so much more from you. However, we will still support you, no matter what. Even if we don't exactly know the full story…" Mrs. Granger replied._

_            "BUT WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME! I **would tell you the story if you only let me!" Hermione yelled. She was getting very frustrated.**_

_            "Don't yell at your mother!" Mr. Granger snapped. He glared at Hermione from the rearview mirror. _

_            "Just listen to me first!" Hermione growled._

_            "It was probably that Longbottom kid. I've heard about him…" Mr. Granger muttered._

_            "Or perhaps it was that Finnigan child." Mrs. Granger added. _

_            Hermione's face started to grow hot. "Conor! Joanna! For the last time! Let me explain!"_

_            " Show some respect! Aren't you learning anything from that school?" Mrs. Granger scolded. _

_            "You people are impossible." Hermione mumbled._

_            They remained silent for the rest of the trip. When they got home, Hermione didn't say a word to her parents and went straight to her room. She locked the door and lay on her bed, not bothering to turn on the lights._

_            "Good thing it's her last year at that school." She heard her father say from outside her door._

_            "Yes, I'm really worried about her." Her mother replied. "Conor, maybe…we made a mistake in letting her go to Hogwarts. Don't you think?"_

_            Hermione tried not to yell. How could her parents be thinking like this? They don't even know what happened and here they were, judging her beloved school._

_            "I thought that a long time ago, when she first got her letter." Conor Granger replied. He wiped his arm across his forehead and brushed his light brown hair from his face.  "But I knew she would be happy if we let her go. That huge smile on her face…we couldn't just say no."_

_            "I know." His wife, Joanna Granger, agreed. "It's too late now though. We should've stopped her and listened to our instincts before this happened."  
            Hermione stood up and unlocked the door. "I can't believe you two! Do you think I'm deaf?"  
            "We thought you were sleeping, honey." Joanna said calmly. _

_            "Why are you saying all those things about my school? Hogwarts is the best thing that's ever happened to me! You have no idea what it's like to be there! You wouldn't even let me explain what really happened so how would you know?"_

_            "I think it's very irresponsible of that Dumbledore fellow to let this happen to his students." Conor commented._

_            "And for your own good, Herm, we've decided that you should stop seeing those wizard friends of yours." Joanna told her._

_            "WHAT?" Hermione felt as if her heart was ripped out. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"_

_            "You have many – er – what do you people call them? Oh yes, muggles! You have many muggle friends out here so we think you don't need your wizard friends." Mr. Granger told her._

_            Hermione was furious. "DON'T YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FOR ME EVERY SUMMER? I yearn for the summer to end just so I could be with Ron!" She paused and continued, "And Harry of course…and Ginny…and everyone else there! You can't stop me from keeping in contact with them."_

_            "We didn't say you couldn't write letters to them, or call them once in awhile." Mrs. Granger replied. "We just think you shouldn't **see **them anymore. That's all."_

_            "That's all? That's **all?" Hermione shrieked. "UGH!" Hermione slammed the door in her parents' face, knowing they would have a talk with her about respectfulness the next day. She lay face down on her bed and sobbed on her pillow.**_

            "Wouldn't your parents get mad if they see me here?" Harry asked.

            "No. They like you. They just don't approve of Ron, Ginny and all the other purebloods." Hermione sighed. "We still owl each other though. But I make sure that my parent's aren't home when Pig comes."

            Harry remained silent, not sure of what to say. 

            "Don't worry Harry. I'll still come to your birthday party at Ron's." Hermione smiled. "My parents are going on vacation in two weeks…that's when your birthday is right? In fact, they went to the travel agency right now. I convinced them to re-live their 2nd honeymoon in Hawaii."

            Harry grinned but couldn't help feeling sorry for Hermione. He knew how hard it was to be locked away from all the magic. He now lived in Sirius Black's house in Grimauld Place. Dobby and Winky insisted in working for him and they helped Kreacher in the housekeeping.  Then he said, "I'm not sure if I want to go the Burrow…"

            "Why not?" Hermione wondered. "Oh…is it because of…" 

            Harry didn't say anything.

            "I understand." Hermione nodded. "I know it must be really hard for you but I still think you should come."

            "I can't avoid her for the whole night." Harry answered.

            "I know. I didn't say that you should." Hermione replied, "But you shouldn't stop being friends with her."

            Harry thought for a minute and changed the subject to House elves. Then he decided he had to go home.

            "Sorry, I have to get back. Dobby gets really worried when I come home after dark." Harry told her.

            "He sounds worse than your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon!" Hermione teased.

            Harry laughed. "You know how he is. He'll try to save me again…he's quite paranoid."

            Hermione laughed with him. "Oh Harry, can you give this to Ron?" She handed him a box wrapped in brown paper with a note in it. "And can you give him a kiss for me?"

            "I'd be glad to." Harry joked. "Well, so long for now." They walked towards the door.

            "Good bye!" Hermione said as she closed the door.

A/n: Ahh! So long and boring wasn't it? Sorry it's still the introduction anyway. Well hope you review! And if you don't know who 'she' is, you'll find out on the next chapter! hehehe


	3. No Batteries!

A/n: Thank you so much for the reviews! Thank God you guys didn't get too bored with it lol. I wrote this chapter when I had a power failure at my house too so yeah…lol

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**Chapter two**

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            Hermione sighed as she sat back on her couch. She decided to watch TV because there was nothing else to do. When she couldn't find anything to watch, she went to the kitchen and made herself a snack. Suddenly, thunder roared loudly and there was a flash of lightning outside. Rain began to pour loudly.

            "Oh great." She muttered. She took an apple from their fruit basket and a mayonnaise sandwich and went upstairs. She went to her bedroom and decided to read a thick novel. It was already 8:30 and her parents weren't home yet. Suddenly, her lamp flickered.

            "What the - ?" She said aloud. With another flash of lightning, her lamp completely turned off and the whole house became pitch black.

            "Shit! Stupid power failure!" Hermione groaned. She searched her drawers for her handy flashlight. "God dammit! Where's that blated thing when you need it?" She got up and crawled blindly to the direction of her door. "That's it! It's in the living room!" She carefully walked downstairs, clutching the railing tightly as she made her way to her living room. Lightning flashed again and she caught a quick glimpse of the flashlight beside the television. She slowly headed to it and grabbed it just as the loud thunder echoed outside. She hastily turned it on but nothing happened.

            "Rats! No batteries!" Hermione grumbled. "If only I had my wand…" She remembered what her parents had done to all her school things. They took them away from her and locked them up somewhere in the attic. She slowly went upstairs, feeling unsafe being alone in the dark. "Where _are_ mum and dad anyway?" She heard a crack from upstairs. _Probably just something falling on the roof, she thought._

            She opened her bedroom door and saw a silhouette of a figure sitting on her bed. She immediately grabbed a vase from a table near her and quietly approached the figure. She raised the vase above its head and was ready to hit it but the figure turned around and grabbed her arm.

            "Oh no you don't!" The figure yelled. It was a voice of a man. The man grabbed both Hermione's wrists and threw her against the wall. 

            "W-who are y-you? T-take a-anything you w-want, but p-please don't hurt m-me!" Hermione's voice quivered.

            "But _you_ are what I want." The voice answered. Hermione still couldn't see his face. "Drop the vase." He ordered. Hermione refused and his grip became tighter. "Drop the fucking vase." Hermione reluctantly agreed and dropped it on the floor. Her fingers were trembling in fear. She recognized that voice. _But it can't be,_ she thought.

            "W-what do you want from m-me?" She asked in a scared voice. 

            "I want the child!" The man shouted. Hermione felt his breath on her neck. Lightning flashed once more and Hermione finally saw who it was. She gasped and felt her whole body become numb. 

            "M – Malfoy?" She stuttered.

            "In the flesh." Draco grinned. He let go of her wrists and grabbed his wand from his jacket pocket. "_Lumos." He gave her a cold, creepy smile that sent shivers down her back. He had a few scars on his face, and his white blond hair was long and messy. He was wearing a gray, tattered jacket, a dirty shirt and ripped jeans. He was very pale and bony. But in a weird, unusual way, he was still rather good looking._

            "But how -" Hermione asked. The rain poured louder than ever, she had to shout so Draco could hear her.

            "Some Dementors owed my father a few favors. They helped me escape." He smirked. He noticed that she was gazing at his scars. "They had to beat me once in a while of course, so it wouldn't be too obvious." He brushed his hair from his face.

            "I – I thought you finally changed, like you said you did." Hermione wondered. "I thought you were through with these kinds of matters."

            "I killed father because I hated him, not because I wanted to do a good deed." Draco answered. "I _did_ try to change, but I realized that there was no point in being 'good'."

            Hermione remained silent for awhile, and then spoke, "What are you doing here? We already talked about this. _I _am keeping the child. They'll hunt you down and you'll be sent back to Azkaban before you know it."

            Draco laughed. "They'll never find me. I have many contacts and sources that can tell me where they are. Did you ever know that the Ministry is so corrupt?" He paused.  "I apparated here and thought that maybe I could get myself a two for one deal." He looked at Hermione in a maniac sort of way.

            "Leave me alone! Can't you see I don't _want _to be with you?" She yelled, stepping away from Draco. She heard a crack and realized that he had disappeared. "Where did he - ?" Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and pinned her against the wall again. _Crack!_

            "I actually did pretty well in this whole apparating and disapparating thing." Draco smiled. He looked intensely at Hermione. "You are so beautiful…" He leaned forward to kiss her. Hermione thought quickly and kicked him in his 'special spot'. He yelped and backed away, groaning in pain. She grabbed the vase which he had made her drop and smashed it on his head. She saw that she made a small wound and blood began to pour out of his skin.She felt a little guilty inside but turned around and began to run out of the room. Then, someone grabbed her foot and she almost tripped.

            "_Mobilicorpus__!" She heard. Hermione began to float above the ground and was slowly making her way towards her bed. Then, she dropped softly without a scratch._

            "I can't let you get hurt in any way. If you get hurt, so will the baby." Draco said as he got up and wiped his head with the sleeve of his jacket.

            Hermione realized how much he cared for the child but saw the anger and the coldness in his eyes. He _wanted_ to hurt her, but with the baby in her, she knew he wouldn't. But what if she finally gave birth? Would he hurt her then? 

            He walked towards her and said, "Enough talk and playing games. I'm going to take you with me." Hermione opened her mouth to protest but Draco casted, "_Petrificus tota -" Just then, they heard the door slam from downstairs. _

            "Hermione, dear! We're home!" A woman's voice called. There were footsteps coming up the stairs.  Hermione could see a beam of light (possibly coming from a flashlight that actually works) coming closer and closer.

            "Shit." Draco muttered. He gave her a deathly stare. "I'll be back when you least expect it. And when I do, you won't be so lucky."

            Hermione felt her heart beat nervously. Malfoy gave her one last look and _crack!_ He disappeared.

            "We bought some Chinese food for you." Her mother said cheerfully. "What are you doing in the dark?"

            "I – I was sleeping." Hermione lied.

            "The weather's terrible! Don't worry your father lighted some candles downstairs." Mrs. Granger informed her. Then she saw the shattered vase on the carpet. "What on earth happened to that vase?"

A/n: Yeah…kinda weird but yeah…lol. Please review!!! And thanks again to the people who already did! Thank you to Follow the Butterflies for correcting my little mistake about the wingardium thing…you're right, Hermione is NOT a feather. 


	4. Actions speak louder than words

A/n: WOW I didn't expect to get that many reviews in chap 2!!! Thank you so much!!!

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**Chapter three**

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            "He what?" Ron exclaimed as he read the letter Hermione sent him. He couldn't believe what had happened.

            "Why? What happened?" Ginny asked curiously. She and Ron were sitting in the kitchen, trying to cook dinner. Molly and Arthur had gone out for the night, leaving Ron and Ginny to fend for themselves. George and Fred were at Lee Jordan's house and weren't coming home until tomorrow night. They worked in their joke shop and only came home to eat dinner and sleep.

            Ron's face was flushed and he was trembling with anger. He handed Ginny the note and banged his fist on the table. He swore under his breath while Ginny read.

            "THAT BLOODY GIT!" Ginny yelled angrily after she read the letter. "How dare he? It's all Fudge's fault! If only he just removed the dementors from Azkaban he wouldn't have gotten out."

            Ron couldn't say anything. He was too angry. He got up and walked to the Weasley's fireplace.

            "Ron, what are you doing?" Ginny followed him. 

            He reached for the container which had floo powder in it. No matter what Hermione's parents said, he wasn't going to keep himself from seeing her. "Tell Mum I'll be back soon."  
            "Ron, if you're going to see her, you might as well apparate." Ginny smirked. 

            "I – I can't." Ron replied. "I barely passed that test."  
            Ginny tried not to laugh. "Can I come?"

            "There's not enough for two people." Ron answered.

            "How are you gonna get back home?" Ginny asked.

            "Uh…" Ron thought for a minute. "Hand me my wand. Maybe Hermione could teach me how to apparate and disapparate."  
            Ginny nodded, trying to hide the smile on her face. "You're so thick, I can't believe you passed."

            "Shut up." Ron mumbled. He threw the floo powder in the fireplace and quickly stepped inside. "Granger residence!"

            ~          *          ~          *          ~

            Hermione sat uncomfortably with her parents in their dining room. She wanted to finish her meal as quick as possible so she could check if Pig had come back with Ron's letter.        

            "No it's alright mother. I'm completely bloated. I think I should go up to my - " Hermione declined.

            Her father interrupted her. "Nonsense! Eat some more! You need it."

            "No honestly dad, I'm extremely full." Hermione refused.

            "Hermione Granger. Eat." He answered in a strict tone.

            Hermione reluctantly agreed. There was no use arguing with her father when he used that tone. Suddenly, there was a loud thud in the living room. 

            Mr. Granger quickly rose from his chair and ran to he scene, followed by Hermione and her mother. 

            "What on earth?" Conor Granger cried. The found a boy sprawled on their floor, covered in ashes and chimney dust.

            "Bloody nice fireplace." The boy mumbled. 

            Hermione immediately recognized him. She ran towards the boy (who was dusting himself) and threw her arms around him. 

            "Ron! What are you doing here?" Hermione said joyfully. She kissed his dirty cheek, forgetting her parents were there watching her.

            "I _had_ to come here, after what you told me." Ron answered. Then he saw the expressions on Conor and Joanna's faces and blushed.

            Hermione let go of him but still held his hand tightly. She looked at her parents awkwardly. "Uh – well there's a perfect explanation…"

            "I think we know what it is." Joanna replied, and to Hermione's surprise, smiled. 

            "Y-You do?" Hermione asked, feeling confused. How did they know about Draco? 

            "It's clearly obvious that you really do love this boy." Her mother said. "And it is obvious that he feels exactly the same about you."

            "Y-yes of course." Ron nodded. He looked at Hermione unsurely.

            "We don't doubt him anymore." Joanna smiled. 

            "We don't?" Mr. Granger asked.

            "We'll talk later." His wife said, giving him a let's-leave-them-alone look. "We'll just go to the dining room and finish eating." She dragged Conor out of the room.

            "That was…odd." Ron commented.

            Hermione laughed. "I can't believe this is happening! I missed you so much."

            "So have I." Ron replied. "I wanted to come sooner but you told me not to. And I would've apparated but I barely passed my apparating test. I might've ended up in Iceland or something. You have to teach me how to apparate back."  
            Hermione laughed and squeezed his hand. "Why are you thinking of going back so soon? Don't you wanna stay longer?"

            "Of course I do." Ron declared. "But Mum might have a fit when she finds out that I left Ginny alone in the house. She's quite paranoid."  
            Hermione nodded understandingly. They stood beside each other in silence, just appreciating each other's company. The, Ron pulled Hermione closer and kissed her softly. 

            "I can't believe what that asshole Malfoy did to you." Ron said angrily. "The next time I see him, I'm gonna kill him."

            Hermione leaned her head on his chest. "I know. He said he would come back."

            "As if I'll ever let that happen!" Ron said protectively. He hugged her tighter, afraid to let her go. He was afraid of never being able to hold Hermione in his arms again. Of course, he couldn't bring himself to admit that to actually say it to her. Hermione on the other hand, already knew that he felt that way even if he didn't say so. Actions speak louder than words.

            "Let's go to my room." Hermione suggested after a long period of silence. 

            Ron's eyes widened. "Herm! I don't think we should…"           

            "Oh come off it! We're not going to…you know…not until after I give birth that is." Hermione gave him a sly smile.

            "I don't think I can wait 'til then." Ron joked. He carried Hermione and spun her around the room. 

            Hermione screamed and laughed until Ron gently put her down and kissed her again. "Let's go." He grinned.

            She grabbed his arm and led him upstairs. 

            "I'll race you!" Ron teased.

            "You're on! I may be pregnant but I don't think you'll still be able to reach up to my standards." Hermione grinned.

            "Set…go!" Ron laughed. He gave Herm

Hermione a head start and quickly rushed after her. When they reached the top, they collapsed on the floor, laughing and out of breathe. They couldn't control themselves. Then, they went to Hermione's room and slammed the door.

            "Maybe I should go and check on them…" Mr. Granger said worriedly.

            Joanna grabbed his arm. "Don't. Leave them be. They haven't seen each other in a long time. It must've been hard for both of them. I trust Ron. He's not that type of man. He cares for our daughter, possibly more than we do. I can see it in his eyes."

            Conor didn't look convinced but remained quiet. He drank from his glass and thought concernedly about his only daughter. 

A/n: Don't worry they didn't do anything…uh…'inappropriate' in the room lol. They just wanted to have fun and spend some time together! Thanks for reviewing!


	5. Swish up, down and tap

A/n: Hi. Um…yeah I actually wrote all the chapters until chapter 6 but I'm way too lazy to type them all in my computer (coz I wrote them on paper) and upload them lol. And yeah, of course, thank you to all of you little people…lol jkjkjk. Well I'm not joking about the little people part…just kidding! You know what I mean right?

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**Mione**** Weasley the original – that was a really good idea…I was gonna consider it but yeah Hermione wants to be all honest right now lol so she's gonna tell them its Malfoy.**

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**Chapter four**

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It was already 3:00 in Hermione's clock and Hermione was still reviewing apparating and disapparating with Ron. "You swish up, down and tap. Then say _apparate!" Hermione repeated for about the 10th time._

"Can you repeat that one more time before I try it?" Ron yawned. He didn't usually stay up this late.

Hermione was starting to get irritated. "For goodness sakes Ron! Have you been listening to anything I said?"

"Sure…" Ron mumbled. 

"UGH!" Hermione grumbled. "Swish up, down and tap! That's as simple as it can get!"

"Yeah…" Ron nodded. 

"You said your Mum would have a fit if you didn't come home in time and I have a feeling they're back right now." Hermione snapped. 

"Huh? Oh! How could I forget?" Ron eventually snapped back into reality. "Sorry if I'm a slow learner." He gave Hermione his irresistible puppy dog eyes.

Hermione couldn't help but smile. "I'm used to it by now. After seven years with you and Harry in Hogwarts, honestly…"

"Well. Here goes." Ron cleared his throat. He swished his wand up, down and tapped. "_Apparate!_" There was a loud crack and he was gone. 

Hermione sighed_. I surely hope he didn't end up in __Iceland__… Hermione lay on her bed and fell fast asleep, dreaming of Ron and broomsticks._

~          *          ~          *          ~

At around 1:00, Joanna and Conor woke Hermione up.

"Good afternoon dear." Joanna smiled.

"Oh, hi mother. Hello father." Hermione yawned. She rubbed her eyes. _Hmm…they're here** together **in my room…what do they want? She thought._

"I think these rightfully belong to you." Joanna handed Hermione a bag full of her spell books and other magical items.

"T-thank you." Hermione said gratefully, wondering why they're finally returning her things to her.

"Hermione dear, I think we put it off long enough." Joanna said softly. She reached for Hermione's hand. "We're ready to know what happened."

Hermione looked stunned. She saw her father take a seat on the other side of her bed. Why did they want to know now?  Hermione breathed deeply and looked at her parents. She told them about Draco Malfoy and how she thought he had changed and turned good. She shyly told them about what happened during the Christmas ball and could barely face them.

Joanna burst into tears and used a handkerchief to blow her nose. She couldn't believe her sweet, innocent Hermione now had a soon-to-be child of her own. Meanwhile, Conor's face was full of so many emotions; confusion, anger, disappointment and sadness all at the same time. 

"I-is it a boy or a girl?" Joanna asked after a long period of silence and tension.

Hermione - who had also begun to cry after her mother - croaked, "I – I want it to be a surprise."

Mrs. Granger nodded and smiled. "At least I'll finally have the chance to be a grandmother."

Hermione tried to smile back but burst into mournful sobs instead. All the emotions and feelings she had when it had happened were all returning back to her. She cleared her throat and told them about how Ron had helped her through everything. Mr. Granger was clearly impressed but at the same time, jealous because he now had to share his daughter's love with another man.  

"I'm s-sorry." Was all Hermione could say. Her mother and father hugged her and the three of them cried uncontrollably all night.

~          *          ~          *          ~

The next day, Hermione apparated to the Burrow. Her parents were leaving the next day on their four-week vacation in the United States and Canada. When Hermione arrived, she was welcomed by Ginny (who was screaming excitedly), Molly (who was cooking dinner) and Ron (who was gazing at her from a distance).

"I'm glad you got home safely." Hermione said to him.

"So am I. I was sure I was going to end up in Iceland…not that I wouldn't mind spending some time there…" Ron joked.

Hermione giggled and hugged him. Then, Ron and Ginny took her to the Weasley's backyard. They sat around and talked for a few minutes. Then Ron said, "It's Harry's birthday in about a week and a half. We'll have to prepare for it soon."

            Hermione nodded. "We'll have to invite all the Gryffindors…and maybe an ex Ravenclaw seeker." She winked but then gasped when she saw the look on Ginny's face.

"Oh Gin, I'm sorry I didn't mean - " Hermione began to apologize.

"I think I should go help Mum with dinner." Ginny muttered. She hurriedly ran off to the house.

"I didn't mean to be rude…it just came out unintentionally." Hermione sighed.

"Don't worry she's not mad." Ron assured her. "Stupid of her really…ever since her and Harry broke up, all she talks about is him." Ron made a poor attempt to mimic Ginny's high-pitched voice. "Do you remember when Harry saved me on your second year? Do you remember when Harry won the Quidditch cup? Harry did this! Harry did that!" Ron shook his head and returned to his own voice. "Honestly, it was driving me mad."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Ron's attempt at Ginny's voice made her laugh so hard, she was in tears. Then she pointed out, "Well she doesn't have a sister who she can really confide in. and since all your brothers are busy, it's only you she can turn to."  
            Ron snorted. "It's obvious she's still crazy about him. It's her fault that she's going out with that Mike Cooper bloke."

"Michael Corner." Hermione corrected.

"Close enough." Ron grinned.

"Ronald! Hermione! Dinner's ready!" Molly yelled from inside. 

Ron helped Hermione up and they walked together to the house.

A/n: When I wrote this chapter I thought it was too long so I decided to cut it in half! The next one'll come out tomorrow or the day after that. I'm not sure if you apparate like that though...so I made it up. Please review!


	6. I swear to Merlin’s grave

A/n: Well here's the continuation of chapter four! Thank you for the reviews! Yeah I can't believe you people are still reading this lol. This is gonna be really boring though it's all talk…****

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**Chapter five**

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            After dinner, Ron decided to owl Harry (Ginny quickly took off to her room when he did this) and invited him to come over to the Burrow sooner than planned. After that, Ron convinced Hermione to play Wizard's chess with him but after 35 defeats, Hermione gave up. 

"I'm kind of tired now, Ron. Hope you don't mind." Hermione yawned. "Where do I sleep?"

"My room." Ginny answered. She was standing behind them, standing on the stairs. "Unless you want to sleep in Ron's of course." She smiled slyly at Hermione. 

Ron blushed and said, "Go to bed Ginny!" He carried Hermione's trunk to Ginny's room and Hermione kissed Ron good night. Then Ron left and Hermione and Ginny changed into their night gowns. After that, Hermione didn't feel tired anymore. She decided to do some 'bonding' with Ginny. First they talked about Hogwarts, then moved to other things like Percy, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George, and finally Ron.

            "I'm glad you're finally together." Ginny smiled. "I'm still surprised that he finally told you though. I didn't think he ever would. He was so busy denying it, and so were you."

            Hermione grinned. "It took me awhile to realize it though. When I saw Lavender snogging him I wanted to murder her."

            "I wanted to murder _before_ that!" Ginny joked. She and Hermione burst into a fit of laughter.

            Then Hermione casually asked, "What about Harry? You never really told us the story…"

            Ginny turned red at once. "W-well…" She looked up at her ceiling. "I – I was kind of…seeing Michael _again_….even before Harry and I got together. We went off and on a lot of times. Then in your 7th year Harry finally admitted that he liked me but he said he wasn't sure if I still felt the same after dating other boys. Well of course I still liked him! I only dated other guys because I thought it would help me get over him." She paused. "Everyone thinks it's a silly crush but I knew – well I thought – it was something more. Then there was Michael…"

            "Go on." Hermione urged. 

            Ginny looked reluctant but continued. "When we first dated in our 4th year I didn't really care about him as much but then he dated Cho and that made me go ballistic. I dated Dean to make him jealous. I kind of started to forget about Harry but I still had feelings for him. Well Michael _did get jealous and he dumped Cho a few weeks later."_

            Hermione nodded.

            "Then, we'd fight, break up and get back together. The same thing over and over! Sometimes we'd date other people for awhile but we still flirted and talked a lot. We would secretly get back together and break up so no one would gossip about us."

            "And Harry?" Hermione asked.

            "Me and Michael broke up for around the 10th time when Harry and I dated. Harry and I were writing letters to each other during the summer before my 6th year. Harry was nothing like Michael! Michael was rude – funny but rude – arrogant, bossy and not half as good-looking as Harry!" Ginny blushed. "Harry was sweet, funny, charming...everything I could ask for." Hermione saw Ginny smile widened as she reminisced. "About four months or so after me and Harry got together, Michael kept sending me messages, asking me to forgive him We would sometimes meet late at night at the room of requirement. I kind of wondered why you never caught us though…"

            Hermione tried to hide her embarrassment. It was probably because her and Draco would be making out somewhere in the hallways so they didn't notice. However, she looked at Ginny and asked her to continue.

            "I felt really bad about it though. But then I thought, 'we're just friends so what's wrong with that?' before I knew it, one thing led to another and I decided I couldn't lie to Harry any longer and hide these secrets from him. It was all so confusing…I don't know what I feel anymore."

            Hermione was silent. She felt sorry for Ginny for having gone through all that without telling anyone. At the same time, she was furious with her because in her opinion, Ginny had acted very stupidly. Then she said, "Who do you miss _now?" Ginny gave her a sad look and right then, Hermione knew. _

"I'm so stupid! So damn stupid…I'm the stupidest, thickest-headed twit!" Ginny cried.

            Hermione patted Ginny's shoulder, hoping that would comfort her. She didn't know what to say.

            "I should've been with Harry right now. Not Michael. I don't even know why I'm with Michael in the first place! I don't know why I did what I did, all I know is I'm incredibly stupid for doing it." Ginny's eyes filled with tears.  "How can Harry ever forgive me?"

            Hermione hugged Ginny and allowed her to let her emotions out. "I'm sorry I can't think of anything to say Ginny. I doubt anything I'd have to say would've made you feel better anyway."

            "It's alright. You being here is enough help." Ginny sobbed.

            After a few minutes of sobbing, Hermione's gown was soaking wet with tears.

            "S-sorry." Ginny apologized as she let go of Hermione. "I never told all that to anyone. There's nobody I can really trust."

            Hermione smiled. "Don't worry. I'm glad you told me."

            Ginny smiled back at her gratefully. "Please don't tell anybody what I told you. Especially not Harry. Not just yet…" She wiped her eyes with her hands.

            "I swear to Merlin's grave." Hermione promised.

            "Thanks." Ginny replied. 


	7. It would still show in his eyes

Thank you again!****

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**Chapter six**

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            Harry sat by himself in the huge house, not knowing what to do. He had applied to be a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher in Hogwarts since Professor Hestia Jones decided to return working as a full time auror instead. He also decided to apply as an auror but knowing that Cornelius Fudge is still in the ministry, he doubted he had a chance. Even now, Fudge still had a grudge against Harry. Fudge was still too embarrassed that Harry had been right all along and was still too proud to apologize.

            "Dobby has tea made for you, young sir." Dobby smiled as he entered Harry's room, carrying a tray. "Dobby thought master was thirsty."

            "Thanks Dobby." Harry replied. He took a sip of the warm tea. "You don't have to call me Master or Sir, I told you that."

            "Oh but Dobby likes the feeling of knowing that he has a brave, kind Master. He feels proud because he remembers he is serving the Great Harry Potter." Dobby gushed. 

            "I really appreciate the fact that you and Winky chose to serve me instead of at Hogwarts." Harry told the house elf.

            "Oh Dobby feels honored to serve you, sir Potter." Dobby smiled. "Dobby and Winky will forever be in debt to your goodness. Never will Dobby leave his Master Potter."

            Just then, an owl started banging on the window. Harry eagerly opened it and let him in. It was Pigwidgeon, carrying a note.

            "Dobby will leave his master to himself now." Dobby announced. He took Harry's empty cup and scurried out the door.

            Harry quickly took the parchment attached to Pig's leg and read:

_Harry,_

_            Hermione's over at my place right now. Her parents finally let her go. We'll tell you the whole story later on. My hands are too lazy to write it all in. We were wondering if maybe you could come over sooner for your birthday celebration. Perhaps a day or two before? _

_            Write back soon._

_PS: Hermione says hi._

_Ron_

            Harry didn't know what to do. Should he go to the Burrow and see_ her again? He placed the letter on the desk and picked up a small picture of a pretty, red-haired girl. She was smiling happily in the picture and waving excitedly to Harry. He looked at another picture on the desk. It was a picture of him and the same girl in the Three Broomsticks. In the picture, they were drinking a large mug of butterbeer with two straws. Then, they stopped drinking and started tickling each other. The girl giggled and pushed Harry away._

            The real Harry sighed and hid the pictures in a drawer. Remembering what they used to be back then just made it more painful for him. Even though he told her he was okay and he pretended to make it seem as if he was carrying on fine and dandy without her, he knew it would still show in his eyes.

            He dreamed of her often, and sometimes he found himself getting teary. He was also angry because it seemed like everything he truly loved and cared for was taken away. He couldn't help but feel used by her. Why did she pretend to be 'in love' with him for so long if she liked someone else? The same question kept popping up in his head. _Why?_ Maybe he would've been better off with Cho…

            He took a blank parchment and a quill and quickly wrote,

_Ron, Hermione,_

_            I'm not sure about having this party anymore. Maybe we should just cancel the whole thing. No offense or anything, but I think I'd rather spend time to myself._

_            Best wishes to you two and everyone there._

_Harry_

            He reread the letter and breathed deeply. Then he tied it to Pig's leg and watched the aging owl fly away. _I'm making the right choice_, he thought. He just wasn't ready to see her yet. He turned the lights off using his wand. Then he lay on his bed and stared at his ceiling. His ceiling had a bunch of glow in the dark stars he bought from a muggle store. They spelled a word, though not intentionally of course. When Harry stuck them up there, he didn't intend for it to spell that name. However, he didn't bother to change it anyway.

            "Ginny." He said to himself. 

A/n: Sorry that was so short!


	8. I thought PMS was only once a month?

A/n: **cosmoz **– ok I guess it's partly my fault that you thought this was d/h coz of the summary but **_ITS NOT_**. If you had **bothered to even read the next few chapters** you would've known that it was **r/h but this is a sequel to another fic and I'm just starting where I left off and that's why the summary is like that. But whatever, say what you want.**

Thank you to the people who appreciate this.****

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**Chapter seven**

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That night, Pig came back with a letter. Ron quickly retrieved it and unrolled the parchment. Hermione and Ginny crowded around him to see who it was from. After reading it all together, Ginny slowly drifted away from them and sat on a nearby chair.

"It's because of me he doesn't want to come." Ginny said to herself, but loud enough that Ron and Hermione could hear. "If it weren't for me, it would've been perfect."

"You got that right." Ron mumbled. Hermione hit his arm and gave him a look.

She walked over to Ginny and put her arm around her miserable friend's shoulder. "Come on Gin. Don't put yourself down so much, though I have to admit…I guess he's just not er – _prepared_ – to see you yet."

Ginny gave her a sorrowful look. "I told you I'm stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"We all know that Ginny." Ron said sarcastically. "Why'd you have to mess it up with Harry anyway? I mean, you guys were practically inseparable! You were perfect for each -" but before he could finish, Ginny rushed upstairs to her room.

"Oh good job there Ron! That was real sensitive of you!" Hermione snapped. "Why'd you say those things to her? Poor girl…"

"Poor girl? What are you saying?" Ron demanded. "Honestly, women are so hard to understand."

"Maybe that's because men are jerks who don't try to see our point of view!" Hermione said defensively.

"Well women are always changing their minds! They're so moody and irritable." Ron countered. "I thought PMS was only once a month?"

Hermione's ears turned red. "I thought PMS was only for girls?"

It was Ron's turn to go red. "Well - "  He began but something interrupted him.

"Ahem." Someone coughed. It was Mrs. Weasley, staring at them with one eyebrow raised. "Dinner's ready. Fred and George are coming home soon. Can you call Ginny upstairs for me, Hermione?"

"Sure." Hermione nodded. She gave Ron a "we're-not-done-yet" look and headed upstairs.

"I thought you two were done with having these rows." Mrs. Weasley commented. "It looked like you were going to bite each other's head off if I hadn't come."

Ron snorted and followed his mother to the dining room/kitchen.

A few minutes later, Fred and George barged in the door. 

"Hello mother!" Fred said cheerily. "We brought Lee over if you don't mind."

"Oh that's fine." Molly smiled.

Lee Jordan came in after George, looking rather shy.

"Don't be shy!" George said as if reading Lee's thoughts. "Let's eat! I'm starving."

They took their places in the table. Then Ron pointed out, "Hermione and Ginny aren't here yet."  
            "What on earth are they doing up there?" Molly wondered. "You go ahead and eat; I'll see what's going on."  
            "Excellent." Fred grinned as he wolfed on his roasted chicken. "Business was tiring today."

"At least we got those fine ladies' names." George added. "They'll be coming back for more I tell you."

They talked for awhile until Ginny, Hermione and Molly came down. Ginny's eyes looked a little swollen and Hermione's shirt sleeve was wet.

"Looking good Hermione." Lee teased when Hermione sat down.

Hermione smiled. "Of course." She caught Ron's eye but Ron quickly looked away.

"Uh, Fred, George, Harry said he couldn't make it to his own birthday." Ron said, quickly changing the subject.

"Why not?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "That's a shame."

Ginny started to tremble lightly. Hermione grabbed her hand to help her calm down.

"Yeah! Why not?" Fred repeated. "We've got so many things planned! Filibuster's fireworks, catch the non-chocolate frog…"

"Find the right flavored bean…" George added.

"Guess the weight of the jabberwocky." Lee piped in.

"And a special preview of our new product!" Fred announced. "He's coming no matter what he says."

"But let's be reasonable! Harry has the right to decide what he wants to do!" Hermione argued.

"Harry doesn't know what he's saying. Trust us Hermy dear. He'll enjoy this." George replied.

"But -" Hermione began.

"He won't come because I'm here." Ginny squeeked. "H-he probably d-doesn't want to have any awkwardness go on between us."

            "And why is that?" Lee asked in a confused tone. 

            "They broke up you idiot!" Fred answered. "Ginny ditched Harry for some bloke in Ravenclaw. Michael Cornor I believe. I told you that remember?"

            Ginny looked stunned. "You people have no right to gossip about my life!" She cried. She got up and stomped back to her room.

            "Gin! Wait!" Hermione quickly followed her.

            "Fred! Learn to shut your mouth!" Mrs. Weasley scolded. "I have such insensitive sons! You should know that your dear sister is going through a difficult stage right now!" She frowned at the four boys who stared blankly at her. "I expect all of you – except Lee of course – to _hand wash _these dishes after eating!" And with that, she took off and proceeded to her daughter's room. The four boys were left speechless.

            "Fred…George…" Lee began.

            "What?" George asked.

            "Remind me not to have dinner at your house when your mother, sister and Hermione are here." Lee stated.

            The three of them laughed but Ron did not join in. Deep inside him, he felt guilty and angry at himself.

A/n: Yeah you know the drill!


	9. You missed it

A/n: Yay thanks for all the reviews! I don't think I'll get to upload fast nowadays…coz of school and all that…ahh…I wish it was summer again…

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**Chapter eight**

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            There was so much tension going on in the Burrow between Rona dn Hermione. Ginny did nothing but mope around the house and the homecoming of Fred and George was the only time when the tension was (slightly) relieved.

            "Just talk to him!" Ginny told Hermione a few nights later. "You know you can't go on like this."

            "I know. But it's not my fault that he's acting like a moron." Hermione nodded. 

            They remained silent for a few seconds, then Ginny said in a casual voice, "So, Hermione…uh…the party's back on right?"

            "Yes it is." Hermione nodded. The day after Ron told Fred and George that Harry didn't want to attend his party, the twins decided to pay Harry a little "visit". Before they knew it, Harry owled them back, saying that he miraculously changed his mind.

            "W-well…d'you want to go shopping with me for Ha – his – present?" Ginny asked.

            "Sure. We can go tomorrow." Hermione smiled. 

            "Great." Ginny beamed. And with that matter settled, the two girls went drifted off to sleep.

*           ~          *           ~          *

            The next day, Ginny and Hermione woke up early and ate breakfast. Then they showered, got dressed and headed to the fireplace.

            "We'll be back later Mum." Ginny assured her mother.

            "Take care now." Molly nodded.

            "Diagon alley!" Hermione said as she stepped in the fireplace. She would've preferred to apparate but Ginny wasn't allowed to yet. She stumbled out of a dusty fireplace and found herself in a pub. Minutes later, Ginny popped out and fell to the floor. Then, they decided to go to the Quality Quidditch Supply store.

            "Do you think he'd like this?" Ginny asked as she held up a broom cover that had an animated picture of a snitch on it. 

            "Yeah. That's pretty neat." Hermione agreed. She was looking at mugs that had Quidditch team names engraved on them.

            "Oh Hermione! Look at this one!" Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her to the center of the store. There was a spotlight on a nicely made brrom lying on the table. "It's the Meteor 2000. It's marvelous isn't it?"

            Hermione nodded. She had to admit, the broom looked very impressive. It had a long, sleek, shiny handle that had Meteor 2000 engraved on it. 

            "It has a better grip and three times faster than Harry's old firebolt! And it's easy to carry and I heard it was excellent in performance!" Ginny gushed. 

            "Oh dear, it costs 500 Galleons!" Hermione pointed out.

            "Damn." Ginny sighed. "This would've been perfect for him…" She looked extremely disappointed.

            "Don't worry Gin. I'm sure he'd appreciate anything you give to him, no matter what the cost. Seeing you is probably the best birthday gift he could ever ask for." Hermione told her.

            Ginny didn't say anything. 

            "Well, I'm gonna go to the bookshop instead. Can you meet me there at around 20 minutes?" Hermione said.

            "Sure." Ginny nodded. However, her thoughts were elsewhere. She wandered back to the broom covers.

            Hermione got out of the store and headed to Flourish and Blotts. How she missed that store!

            "Hello Hermione." The storekeeper greeted. He was used to seeing his favorite customer.

            "Good day sir." Hermione smiled. She headed to the section filled with Quidditch books. "A-ha!" She took out the 'Guide to Getting the Snitch: More faster, efficient and smarter ways to make you a better seeker' and brought it to the counter. 

            After making her purchase, Hermione went outside and waited for Ginny. After about 10 minutes, she grew impatient. She decided to go back inside the store when a cold hand grabbed her arm.

            "What do you think you're doing?" Hermione yelled. She yanked her arm away and saw that it was Ron. Ginny was standing behind him carrying a plastic bag, looking furious. She figured that the siblings had another argument.

            "Why are you here? _Alone?_" Ron demanded.

            "I'm with her, I told you that already!" Ginny replied.

            "We decided to get a present for Harry. Is that so wrong?" Hermione answered. "Ginny and I were going to meet up here."

            "But then Ron came when I was on my way." Ginny said. "Sorry we took long."

            "You should've told me you were going here." Ron said angrily. "Next time, tell me when and where you're going."

            "I can look out for myself thank you very much." Hermione said, feeling slightly annoyed. She looked at Ron and saw so much worry in his eyes. She suddenly felt guilty.

            "Not when _he_ comes and gets you. Who'll look out for you then? Ginny can't do anything." Ron shot back.

            "Shut up Ron! We all care for Hermione just as much as you do!" Ginny yelled. "Thanks for having so much confidence in me." She added sarcastically. 

            Hermione remained silent and glared at the tall redhead boy. "We…we told Molly we were going here…"  
            "You still should've told me too." Ron answered.

            Silence.

            "How about we go get some ice cream or something?" Ginny suggested a few minutes later. "Maybe that'll cool us off."

            "Fine." Ron and Hermione said in unison. They caught each other's eye but Hermione quickly walked beside Ginny and Ron was left behind them.

At the ice cream shop, Ginny ordered cookies and cream while Ron and Hermione ordered coffee crisp dip. The three of them sat in a table, not saying a word. 

Then, Ginny got up and said, "Oh I forgot to get another thing at the store. I'll see you guys at home alright? No need to wait for me…" She gave Hermione a quick wink and took off.

Ron and Hermione stayed glued to their seats, feeling the tension growing again.

Ron cleared his throat. "She planned this didn't she?"

"That sneaky little…" Hermione muttered. She noticed that Ron had ice cream on his cheek. "You have something there." She pointed at her right cheek.

"Here?" Ron rubbed his left cheek.

            "No, other one." Hermione replied.

            Ron wiped his other cheek.

            "You missed it." Hermione rolled her eyes. She took a tissue and wiped the ice cream off. "There we go."

            The two of them concentrated on their ice cream, trying to avoid each other's gaze. Finally Ron spoke up, "Look, Herm, we cant just stop talking whenever we have a row. We're past that. I mean, I know you can't stand not talking to me…"         

Hermione tried not to laugh. "What are you talking about? Maybe it's _you who can't survive without _me_."_

"Shut up." Ron grinned. It felt so good to be talking to Hermione again. It felt like he was being torn apart inside when they weren't speaking. Whenever he saw her, he felt like wanting to run up to her and hug her. But his pride took over him and he didn't. "Look, I'm sorry for acting like an asshole and for saying all those stupid things to Ginny."

"I'm sorry too." Hermione smiled. She felt a lot better now that she and Ron patched things up. She couldn't remember how angry she had been.

"The thing I really missed when we weren't speaking to each other was this." Ron leaned closer to Hermione and kissed her softly. Hermione kissed him back and nearly knocked over her ice cream. She moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

After a few minutes, the broke off, almost out of breathe. Hermione smiled. "Have _you gotten Harry anything?" She leaned back to her chair._

Ron nodded. "I got him a Wizard's chess board. Quite nice actually…wish I could have it for myself…"

When they finished eating, they explored Diagon Alley for a bit. They saw Neville and Luna Lovegood holding hands in one of the stores. They chatted for a bit, and then went their separate ways. After that, they decided to apparate back home. When they got to the Burrow, they heard a man's voice talking to Molly in another room. They looked at each other curiously and carefully walked to the source.

"And so they're taking care of the house for me." The voice was saying.

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione exclaimed.

A/n: Well I hope that was long enough for you. Thanks for reviewing!


	10. This is just great!

A/n: Thanks to everyone who reviewed again!

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**Chapter nine**

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            "Hey." Harry smirked. 

            Hermione rushed to him and gave him an enormous hug. After she released him, she squealed, "We didn't know you were coming now! You should've at least warned us."

            "Well I decided to surprise you guys instead." Harry grinned. He ran his hands through his long, shaggy, black hair.

            "Oi Harry!" Ron greeted. His eyes were wide open with excitement. "Good thing you came when you did. Your birthday's in two days so I guess this is a good time to come."

            Harry nodded. "What's that?" He pointed at the bag that Hermione was carrying.

            "Oh – uh – I just decided to read up a bit on the famous witches of the past centuries." Hermione lied.

            Harry rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're still doing school work."

            "This isn't school work! It's a leisurely activity!" Hermione insisted. The trio laughed and headed to the backyard.

            "Care for some Quidditch?" Ron asked Harry. He fetched his broom and held an ordinary rubber ball on his hand. "We can get Hermione to hex this or something for us so it can fly around."

            "Sure. I brought my broom along with me. I'll go and get it."  Harry headed back into the house and retrieved his broom. It was leaning against the fireplace, looking as attractive as it did when he first got it. However, whenever he looked at the broom, it reminded him of Sirius and the fact that he was gone. He often blamed himself for it, but he knew that his godfather wouldn't want him moping all the time. He grabbed his broom when something burst out of the fireplace.

            The 'thing' fell on Harry, causing him to fall backwards on the floor.

            "Sorry about that! Are you alright?"  A girl's voice asked. 

            "I – I'm fine. Are you?" Harry replied. He looked up and his eyes landed on a pair of bright blue eyes that stared at him with a mixture of surprise, embarrassment and confusion.

            The girl's eyes widened and she quickly got off him and dusted her clothes. _What a perfect way to greet him! She thought, feeling angry at herself. She picked up a big, brown paper bag off the floor and decided to walk away because she was far too ashamed to converse with the young man._

            "You didn't answer my question. Are you alright?"

            "She stopped in her tracks and said, "y-yes. I'm fine. I – I have to go to my room. Excuse me." She ran upstairs, hiding her face from the boy she had been trying to force out of her thoughts for weeks. She shut the door and jumped on her bed. _This is just great! _She thought.

            Harry was left there, standing. He had some dust on his shirt but he didn't bother removing it. He was still in shock. He hadn't expected to see Ginny again like that. He knew he would have to talk to her somehow. He couldn't avoid her forever. But he certainly didn't expect to bump into her while she came out of a fireplace. He picked up his broom from the floor and went outside. Ron and Hermione were Eskimo kissing under a tree. He felt somewhat jealous and angry about this. It wasn't fair! He thought. Why does he have to deal with all this pain while his two best friends were there, all happy and carefree?

            "Ahem." He coughed loudly as he approached them.

            Ron quickly got up with the ball held tightly in his hands. "Hermione already jinxed it for us while you were gone. Are you ready?"

            Harry nodded.

            "We can play more after if Fred and George come home early." Ron told him. He gazed at Harry's dusty shirt. "What happened to you? Why are you all dirty?"

            "Uh…what?" Harry denied. He looked away from Ron and Hermione.

            "Why are you all dirty?" Hermione repeated.

            "Oh…" Harry stared at his shirt. "I fell in the fireplace while getting my broom. I kind of tripped." Harry answered. That wasn't exactly a lie…

            "Right." Ron looked at him with an eyebrow raised. Does Harry really think he's THAT stupid? The two boys flew up in the air and merely tossed the ball around. Hermione watched for a bit, but later found it boring and went back in the house. Molly was already preparing dinner and Hermione decided to help her.

            "Mrs. Weasley, is Ginny back yet?" She asked.

            "Oh yes I saw her come out of the fireplace. She crashed into Harry when he was getting his broom." Molly told her. "It was quite a sight. She was blushing so hard but she handled the situation pretty well. She's up in her room, you can see her if you want. Don't tell her I saw what happened though."

            Hermione nodded and ran upstairs. _So that's why Harry had dust on him…_she thought. She opened the door and found Ginny lying on her bed.

            "I'm really stupid Hermione." Ginny said. "I fell on him while coming out of the fireplace. I think I scared him…"

            Hermione put the book she bought on a table. "He looked dazed when he came back to the backyard. He and Ron are going to play Quidditch. You should join them."

            "What? No!" Ginny declined. "I don't want to see him. I'm never coming out of this room."

            "Oh yes you are. I'll _make_ you." Hermione answered. "Besides, you'll get hungry and you'll have to go to the bathroom sooner or later." 

            Ginny didn't answer.

            "Oh come on Gin! Don't tell me you're staying up here for Harry's party too!" Hermione pleaded. No reply. She sighed and said, "Well I guess I'll go back downstairs." She knew Ginny wanted to be alone. 

            "Sorry Herm. It's not you. I just need some time alone." Ginny apologized.

            "I understand." Hermione replied.

            "Thanks." Ginny said gratefully.

            Hermione closed the door and went back to the backyard. She found Fred, George and Lee (who surprisingly returned) playing with three different balls (that were hexed).

            "Hey Herm!" Fred greeted. "Can you call Ginny for us? Ask her if she wants to play."

            "She's sleeping." Hermione told them. She saw Harry's face turn into a look of disappointment.

            "Oh. Too bad!" Fred said as he passed the ball to George.

            "Well I guess she won't mind that I'm using her broom." Lee commented. Ginny had gotten a new broom in her 5th year for her birthday. It was a Comet 7000.

            "Do _you_ wanna play?" George asked Hermione.

            "No it's ok. I'll watch." Hermione said. She sat under the tree again and watched Ron catch a ball and throw another one. He was certainly fit and muscular because of Quidditch. She smiled and gazed at him dreamily. His face was slightly pink and sweat beads were forming on his forehead. His dark red hair was shining in the sun and his eyes were full of concentration. Just then, Hermione felt something hard hit her on the head, causing her to become unconscious.


	11. You lazy wart

A/n: well most of you already guessed what happened to Hermione lol but you didn't guess what ELSE is gonna happen in this chapter! This is gonna be pretty long so I doubt I'll be able to update for awhile…

**Chapter ten**

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                "Is she alright?" Harry asked. He and Ginny were alone downstairs. The others were in Ginny's room, huddled around Hermione.

                "I – I'm pretty sure she'll be fine after a few hours." Ginny answered. She tried to look away from Harry but she couldn't help herself.

                "What's wrong?" Harry asked. He noticed Ginny staring at him. _I wonder if there's something on my face, he though consciously. _

                "What? N - Nothing. Nothing at all." Ginny forced herself to laugh. "I – I should see if Harry's alright." She started to go upstairs when Harry stopped her.

                "I'm alright." He said.

                "What?" Ginny gave him a confused look.

                "Y – You said you were going to check if _Harry_ was alright…" Harry explained_. I swear that's what I heard…_

                Ginny felt her face grow hot. "Um…I think you're hearing things Harry. I said H – Hermione. Yeah, that's what I said…"

                Harry raised an eyebrow. "Well I'll come up with you."

                "Go ahead." Ginny turned her back to him and they went upstairs. She felt his eyes burning on her back. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and climbed faster. 

                Just when they opened the door, Ron swung his fist and hit Lee square on the nose.

                Hermione slowly opened her eyes. She realized that she was lying on a bed. _Where am I? She asked herself. She sat up and looked around her. _I'm in Ginny's room_…she noted. She saw Ron sleeping on Ginny's bed across from her. He was snoring lightly and his mouth was slightly open. Hermione smiled to herself and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead which caused him to stir about._

                Ron opened his eyes and saw Hermione gaping at him. "Oi! Finally you're awake!"

                "What happened?" Hermione asked. 

                "Well, Lee missed the ball that Harry threw at him and it ended up hitting you." Ron explained. "You blacked out for a few hours. I was really worried…"

                "Oh." Hermione said. "No wonder I'm so hungry." She rubbed her stomach.

                "So am I…" Ron muttered.

                "Well that's why I'm here." Ginny smiled as she entered the room, carrying a tray of steaming soup. "Here you go Hermione."

                "Hey where's mine?" Ron complained.

                "Go get your own, you lazy wart!" Ginny snapped. She handed the tray to Hermione.          "Thanks." Hermione said gratefully. She took a few sips and then said, "Would you like some Ron?" 

                Ron blushed. He felt embarrassed for acting so selfish. "Nah it's ok. I have to go check on the others. I'll come back later on." He kissed Hermione and left the room.

                "You should've seen his face when you passed out." Ginny said. She took a hairbrush and removed some hair tangled on it. "He was absolutely furious! His face was as red as an overripe tomato and I think Lee's nose broke. Good thing Mum's fixed him up."

                Hermione couldn't help but feel flattered. She ate more of her soup and asked, "How's Harry doing?"

                Ginny looked up at her. "He's…fine…" She paused, and then continued. "We talked for a bit when Ron brought you up here."

                "Well I guess that's good." Hermione commented.

                Ginny sighed as she remembered the uncomfortable, tense look on Harry's face. 

                "Well his birthday's tomorrow…he doesn't know that everyone form Gryffindor's coming. He thinks it's only us." Hermione added. "And Michael too of course."

                Ginny nodded her head slowly.

                "So, what did you get him anyway?" Hermione asked, trying to carry on the conversation.

                "I – well – you'll see." Ginny answered. Then she yawned. "Well I'm gonna go get some sleep now. It's pretty late. 'Night Herm."

                "Good night." Hermione replied. Ginny pulled her blanket over her head and slept on her stomach. Hermione quickly finished eating the rest of her soup and brought it downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she found two boys sitting on chairs.

                "Hermione! Are you feeling better?" Harry stood up.

                "Yes. Don't worry I'm fine. It was nothing." Hermione smiled. "I needed all that rest anyway. Where's Lee?"

                "H – He went home with Fred and George." Ron answered simply. He felt a little guilty about what he did to Lee. Even though it was an accident, he was so scared when Hermione was unconscious. She looked dead…and that frightened him. Thinking about losing her was incredibly painful for him. The three friends chatted for awhile like old times until they realized it was very, very late.

                Harry yawned. "We should hit the sack now. 'Night you two."

                "'Night." Hermione stretched her arms. Ron put his arm around her and walked with her upstairs. 

                "You'll be in my dreams tonight." Hermione teased.

                "And you'll be in mine." Ron grinned. "Sometimes I feel like I'm still dreaming when I'm with you."

                Hermione pulled his face closer to hers. "I love you, Ronald Weasley." She pressed her lips against his.

                "Knock it off will you?" Harry teased. He went in Ron's room, giving them a look of disgust.

                "I love you too." Ron whispered after they broke off. They hugged each other and then went off to their separate rooms.

*              ~              *              ~              *

                "SURPRISE!" A bunch of loud, cheery voices yelled into Harry's ears.

                "Wha - ?" He opened his eyes and reached for his glasses on the bedside table. He was greeted by about twenty or more people, grinning and beaming at him. 

                "Happy birthday Harry!" They all cheered. There was a loud explosion in the background.

                "Uh…we'll fix that later." Fred's voice said. Everyone laughed.

                "Thanks a lot you guys. I didn't know everyone else was coming. I thought we were just going to have a nice, quiet party." Harry said.

                "That's why it's called a _surprise_ Harry my boy." George joked. Harry got up and followed the crowd as they  headed downstairs. He couldn't believe that this many people could actually fit in the Burrow. At the corner of his eye, he saw two figures were left behind.

                "Not now Michael. After!" A girl's voice argued.

                "I can't wait any longer." The boy answered firmly.

                "Stop it!" The girl's voice was shrill. 

                "AHEM!" Harry coughed. 

                The boy turned around. It was none other than Michael Corner. "Oh, hey Har. Happy birthday. Thanks for inviting me."

                Harry frowned at him. _I would'nt have invited you if I had the choice…_he thought. He forced a smile and said, "Thanks. Let's go downstairs to eat." He looked at his muggle wristwatch. 1:35 PM.

                "Right." Michael nodded. He took Ginny's hand and dragged her downstairs. Ginny tried to give Harry a grateful look but Harry didn't notice.

                Everyone else was already eating and chattering away. Molly prepared plenty of delicious food. Harry saw Dean, Colin, Luna, Seamus and other Gryffindors. He was on his way outside when he saw Oliver Wood chatting with Angelina Johnson and Fred. He decided to approach him when an ice cold hand grabbed his arm. 

                "Hello Harry." A sweet voice greeted.

                Harry's mouth almost dropped open. "C- Cho?" 

                "Yes it's me." The girl laughed. There was Cho Chang, looking even more beautiful the last time Harry remembered seeing her. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a tight shirt that said 'Quidditch Obsession is Not a Crime' and a jean skirt. She had a pinch of eye shadow and blush (not that she needed any) and a beaded necklace.

                "H – I – hey." Harry stuttered. He stretched out his hand. "N – nice to see you again."

                "Uh…so am I." Cho gave him a curious look but shook his hand anyway. "I haven't seen you for a long time now."

                "Yeah…it's been a really long while." Harry nodded.

                "_Too long." Cho said quickly. They began to walk slowly to the backyard, farther away from everybody else. "How are things with you?"_

                "Pretty good. I'm planning to be an Auror or a teacher." Harry informed her.

                "Really? Will you be teaching at Hogwarts?" Cho's eyes widened with excitement.

                "Hopefully…" Harry shrugged. He noticed some people staring at them as they walked by.

                "I'm trying to get a position as the Quidditch referee or broom instructor. I heard Madame Hooch had to take care of some business so I decided to apply." Cho said. She stared at Harry. "It would be fabulous to be able to work with you…as teachers I mean. Maybe you could teach me other Quidditch techniques." She was slowly moving closer to him.

                "I – I'll be glad to." He smiled. He suddenly realized that they were in a secluded area in the backyard. There were only three other people there, and they weren't paying any attention to them.

                "I've missed you terribly…" Cho whispered. She was now even closer than ever. This reminded Harry back in his 5th year when Cho's face was this close to his. She kissed him, while crying. But now, she looked happier than ever. Her eyes were shining. He could feel her breathing on his lips…

                ~              *              ~              *              ~              

                "Ginny! Please go call Harry outside!" Hermione told Ginny. They were planning to get the party games started.          

                "No, she's busy with me." Michael said abruptly. 

                Ginny yanked her arm away from him. "Ok I will." She got up and couldn't help but feel excited. She couldn't wait to see Harry's expression when she gives him he present. She headed to the backyard and searched for Harry. 

                "Har - " She stopped when she saw Harry's hands pull a girl – Cho! – close…and _kiss_ her. 


	12. I don’t know what came over me

A/n: Hey guys so sorry for the super late update! Well here's the 11th chap!

**Chapter eleven**

****

            Ginny froze at her spot. After that, she didn't know why or how it happened, but all she remembered was pushing Cho away from Harry and yelling. Then Cho yelled back at her and stomped away leaving Harry surprised and Ginny flushed. 

            "I – I – I'm sorry Harry. I – I don't know what came over me." Ginny mumbled as she looked at her shoes. She never knew it was possible to feel this embarrassed.

            "Neither do I…" Harry said, almost in a whisper.

            Ginny looked up and saw Harry staring at her with his confused green eyes. She couldn't stand it any longer. "I'm sorry." She ran back inside the house, holding back tears. When she got inside, Hermione immediately saw her and approached her.

            "What happened? Cho came back here awhile ago and she looked very angry."  Hermione asked worriedly.

            "I - Is she s-still here?" Ginny stammered.

            "No she left with Oliver." Hermione answered. "What happened out there?"

            "I – I don't want to talk about it." Ginny wiped her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me! I'm with Michael now, not Harry. Michael!" 

            Hermione hugged her friend tightly. "Where's Harry?"

            "What about me?" A voice behind them asked.

            "Harry, hi." Hermione had a surprised look on her face. "Well we were about to start eating the cake but we need you to blow out the candles first." 

            "Is that all you need me for? Just so you can eat your cake? How flattering." Harry grinned sarcastically. 

            Hermione smiled and turned to Ginny. "Come on Gin, I know you're hungry for cake."

            Ginny nodded and stood up. _How can he act like nothing happened? _She thought to herself as she reached the dining table. _I guess he **has **forgotten about me…but so what? Why should I care? I'm with Michael...**I'm **the one who ended it anyway, so why do I still feel this way? _Suddenly someone grabbed her waist from behind.

            "Hey babe, I've been looking all over for you." A voice whispered in her ear.

            "Oh hey. Sorry I was just walking around and entertaining guests and all that," Ginny lied. Michael turned her face to his. 

            "That's not what I heard those Gryffindors saying over there. They said you flipped out when you saw Cho and Harry having a liplock in the backyard." Michael said in an angry tone. "You pushed Cho and you were yelling 'get off my boyfriend'. Is that true?"

            Ginny turned pale. Did she really do that? She couldn't believe it. What was wrong with her? She tried to force a smile. "N –no of course not. Why on earth would I do that?"

            "Because you still like that Potter freak." Michael snapped. "I knew you would never get over him. Why did you even cheat on him in the first place?"

            Tears began forming in Ginny's eyes. "Michael, I –" 

            But Michael interrupted her. "You know what I think Ginny Weasley? I think you're nothing but a pathetic whore."

            "What did you say?" An angry voice yelled. Harry came from behind Michael and punched him on the nose. "Don't ever talk that way about Ginny. You don't know anything about her."

            "I can't believe you Potter. How can you still care for this bitch when she chose me over you? Are you really that stupid? Did that scar damage your thinking?" Michael laughed as he wiped the blood that was coming out of his nose.

            "Michael, just shut the fuck up!" Ginny cried angrily. "I know I made a mistake. I know I should've never, ever done what I did. But I can't undo what I did or turn back time. You have no idea how horrible I feel inside! Every night I think of what my life would've been like if I never went out with you Michael, and all I see is me feeling the one thing you never made me feel…being _happy._" 

            Now the whole Burrow was quiet. Everyone was hanging on every word, watching every move. 

            Michael's mouth dropped open. "Say that again?"

            "You are the most horrible, selfish, arrogant boy that I've ever gone out with. And I don't know why I even did." Ginny said in a shaky voice. Tears began pouring out by the buckets from her eyes. She gave Harry one last look and ran upstairs, leaving everyone in shock.

            Finally, George said, "I think we should consider this party over."

            Michael apparated and said nothing to anyone. Hermione was just standing there, speechless. Ron was confused and didn't know what to do. As people were going out the door, Harry could hear them whispering about Ginny and what just happened.

            "I knew they weren't going to last!" Neville said.

            "Obviously not! That Michael bloke is a menace!" Lavender whispered. 

            Harry felt like everything was happening so fast. One minute he was having a good time at his own birthday party, next he was kissing Cho…and now disaster.

            "I knew today was too good to last." Ron mumbled.

            "Ron!" Hermione gave him an angry look.

            "It's true! Everything just messes up all the time." Ron added even more.

            "Ron, shut up. Please." Hermione scolded. 

            "I'm going for a walk." Harry announced loudly. He took his jacket and left. Nobody knew what to say except Fred.

            "So…can we eat some cake now?"

A/n: Yeah that was such a stupid way to end this chapter…sorry if it wasn't that long either! In case you realize this scene from That 70's show, the whole "Get off my boyfriend!" thing with Jackie, Kelso and Jessica Simpson lol. Yeah I got that from there. Well review please. 


	13. Goodbye Ginny

A/n: Thanks for the reviews!!! Keep them coming lol. And BuckNC, here's what Ginny was yelling to Cho. 

**Chapter twelve**

****

            Harry finally reached his destination: a hill covered with tall green grass and dandelions. He found this hill a few days ago when he was taking another one of his late-night walks. He sat under the closest tree, which was in front of a shimmering, peaceful lake. He wished he could bring Ginny here sometime. He knew she'd love it. He always knew how to make her happy…

            What happened at the party was something he least expected. He thought he was the only one who was hurting inside. _I guess Ginny's not as strong as she wants me to think, _he thought. He began to throw rocks in the lake and watched them splash. _Fuck, I don't know what to do anymore! I'm sick of this feeling! Why do I care so much for her? _He remembered what Michael said back at the party. She cheated on him, played him, lied to him and broke his heart. So why does he care? That question kept repeating on his mind. 

~          *           ~          *           ~

            "You look really tired." Ron said softly as he kissed Hermione's forehead. He held her hand and moved her closer to him. They were sitting alone on a bench in the backyard. George and Fred left with Lee and Ginny was still in her room. Molly was cleaning up in the kitchen and the Ministry called in Arthur.

            "I am." Hermione sighed. She clutched Ron's hand tighter. "This is so messed up. We thought we were doing Harry a favor by planning this party for him and look what happened! The situation's worse than ever! Ginny's probably bawling her eyes out in her room right now, and Harry…oh I don't know where he could be! Do you think we 'ought to find him?"

            Ron shook his head. "I know you're worried about him but we have to give him time alone to think…and stuff…" 

            Hermione smiled. "Yeah that's something that _you've _never done before have you?"

            Ron grinned, and then placed his hand on Hermione's stomach. "It's getting so big now. I can't believe it's coming soon."

            "Neither can I." Hermione smiled wider. "I'm so excited! I can't wait for it to come. Only four more months left. Time goes by so fast…"

            "I know…" Ron whispered as he pressed his lips gently on Hermione's. He pulled her body closer to his. Just then, the door slammed. "Ahh! So many interruptions!" Ron muttered angrily.

            Hermione laughed. "Don't worry we'll have time alone someday."

            "Herm? Ron? Are you guys here?" Harry's voice called from inside the house.

            "We're out in the backyard!" Ron said loudly.

            Harry casually walked to them. He brushed his raven black hair off his eyes and said, "I'm leaving."

            "What? What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Ron's mouth dropped open.

            "Why? Where will you go? Harry! You can't leave!" Hermione protested.

            Harry didn't look them in the eye. "I've decided to go and find a job somewhere. I'll return to my place with Dobby and Winky."

            "You know you don't want to do that Harry. So why are you doing it?" Ron rolled his eyes. "Come on now, stay here."  
            "Ron, I think Harry should do what he wants. Our opinions are our opinions only, and not his decisions." Hermione held Ron's hand tightly and gave him a 'look'. 

            Ron had a confused look on his face, but he merely nodded. "Oh fine. You win."

            Harry had to grin. "Look I had a great time at your house and all…"

            "Ok Harry, you don't need to lie. After all that's happened I doubt you had anything but a horrible time here." Ron sighed. "Don't worry about it, I understand."

            Harry gave him a small smile and shook his hand. "I'll keep in touch." Then he turned and hugged Hermione. "Have fun you two."

            Hermione looked at him sadly. "It won't be the same without you." 

            "Maybe you could visit me sometime." Harry replied as he released Hermione. "Mind if use floo instead of my broom?"

            "Go ahead." Ron nodded. He and Hermione stood up and watched Harry get in the fireplace.

Meanwhile, upstairs in Ginny's room, she kept tossing and turning in her bed. She couldn't stop thinking of what had happened. She felt the urge to find Harry and talk to him, but something was stopping her. Was it fear? Was it embarrassment? Was it her pride? Whatever it was, it was taking control of her. She remembered the feeling she had when she saw when Cho pressed her lips on Harry's. Sudden bursts of pain, anger, envy and sadness all at the same time.  She suddenly remembered running up to them, her body trembling.

_"Get off my boyfriend!" She had yelled at Cho. She used all her force and pushed her away from Harry._

_"Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do? He's not your boyfriend you know." Cho demanded. "You already had Harry once and you were stupid enough to let him go so it's my turn to have a shot at him."_

_Harry was just standing there, not knowing what to do. Then all they heard was a loud *smack*. Ginny was horrified at what she had done. Cho made her hands into a fist and re-collected herself. Then she stomped away, yelling "I don't have to deal with this! I'm not even going to bother and waste my time on you. You're not worth wasting my time on. You're truly an embarrassment to all the Weasleys."_

She had expected Cho to dive at her and pull her hair out. Surprisingly she didn't. Ginny felt extremely childish at what she had done. Maybe that's why Cho didn't bother fighting back…and thankfully she didn't. There would've been a much bigger mess to clean up at the party, and an even bigger reputation to fix.  Finally she made her decision and rushed downstairs.

            "Well, good bye." Harry waved one last time to Ron and Hermione. Suddenly, they heard someone rushing down the stairs. 

            "HARRY! Don't go! Please!" Someone cried. It was Ginny, with mascara running down her cheeks, her hair was a mess, her lipstick was smudged and tears pouring from her eyes. She ran to Harry and looked at him. "I – I – "

            "I think we should leave…" Hermione whispered to Ron.

            "Aw but we're just getting to the good part!" Ron whispered back.

            Hermione pinched his ear. "Now Weasley!" 

            "Fine, fine." Ron rolled his eyes and quietly sneaked out of the room with Hermione. 

Harry gave Ginny a blank look. "I don't want or need your explanations. Good bye Ginny."

"But – "Ginny tried to explain.

But Harry shook his head and went inside the fireplace. He dropped the floo powder and said, "Grimauld Place!" and he disappeared in a swirl of powder. 

_I just missed my chance again, _Ginny thought grimly as she was left standing, watching the fireplace, expecting Harry to say, "I was just joking" or something stupid like that. 

A/n: Well I made that one a little longer than the chapter before lol. Hope you guys review! I doubt I'll be updating for awhile so yeah…march break's over and it's time to go back to school!!! AHHHH!!


	14. I’ll prove you wrong

A/n: Sorry for not updating for so long! I've just been busy with exams and everything, but now it's finally the summer! Thanks to the people who still review and again I apologize for not updating sooner.

**Chapter thirteen**

****

****

"Mister Potter! Mister Harry Potter has come home!" A cheery voice squealed when Harry popped out of the fireplace.

Harry laughed. "Hello Dobby, nice to see you again too."

"We have missed Harry, oh very much! We kept tidy the house for your return," Dobby said eagerly. "

"Thank you," Harry replied.

A shy, quiet elf slowly walked towards Harry. She was holding a small knitted cap in her tiny hands. She stretched her hands out and showed them to Harry. "I – I made this, for you Sir."

Harry smiled. "Why thank you Winky! I was thinking of buying a cap actually, but thank you for making me this. You saved me money."

Winky looked relieved. She wasn't sure if her Master would appreciate a tiny, knitted cap. She worked hard on it, carefully sewing different colored beads that created different patterns, and occasional little ornaments like little nutshells or acorns. She wisely chose the Gryffindor colors, gold and scarlet. And at the top of the hat, she sewed in a design of a lightning bolt using twigs.

"We'll make something special for you in the kitchen as soon as possible Sir. Come on Winky, let's get to work!" Dobby said excitedly as he grabbed Winky's hand and rushed to the kitchen.

Harry laughed to himself and proceeded to his room. He passed by many portraits of Sirius's relatives, and finally a portrait of Sirius himself. Sirius was smiling mischievously in his portrait, walking, jumping or just standing perfectly still. Harry gave it a little smile and entered his room. In his room, everything was perfectly clean and in order, Dobby made sure of that. He put his suitcase on the floor and jumped on his bed. He stared at his ceiling and saw the glow in the dark stars again. He sighed. _I really should take those out, _he thought. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Sir, your meal is ready for you." Dobby told him from outside.

"Thanks Dobby, I'll be out in a minute." Harry replied. He wasn't really hungry, but he knew Dobby was so excited to have him back and he didn't want to disappoint the poor elf. He took his jacket off and left it on the bed. Then he followed Dobby to the kitchen.

__

_Weeks later…_

Hermione and Ron still kept in touch with Harry through owl post and occasionally meeting up in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. However, Ginny didn't go with them to meet Harry. She always had 'other plans'. Secretly, she was just too ashamed of herself to see Harry again.

So today, it was the day before school began, and the trio decided to have some butterbeers.

"So what was the 'big announcement' you wanted to tell us from your letter?" Asked Hermione.

"Well, you know how Cho told me she was trying to get into Hogwarts to be a broom instructor or a Quidditch referee? Well I talked to Dumbledore about it and he said that the broom instructor and the Quidditch referee are usually the same teacher." Harry began.

"I'm not quite sure…is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Ron gave him a confused look.

"I'm not done yet, "Harry smiled. "So instead of me trying to fight for that position against Cho, he said I could be the Quidditch _instructor_!"

"That's great Harry!" Hermione replied.

"Wait, I'm confused. Since when did we have a Quidditch instructor?" Ron wondered.

"Since I asked." Harry grinned. "Dumbledore thinks that having a Quidditch instructor's a good idea to encourage the students to be more involved in the sport and it helps them practice their skills. And you don't have to be in the Quidditch team to take the course, you can just do it for fun."

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Hermione nodded approvingly as she sipped more of her butterbeer. "I expect a lot of students would want to take your course."

"Thanks for the encouragement Herm." Harry replied proudly.

"Yeah I think that's great too." Ron added. "Now this is the time where you go 'thanks Ron'."

Harry laughed. "Thanks Ron…"

"There you go." Ron joked. "Hermione's gonna be delivering soon!"

"Oh really?" Harry raised his eyebrow.

"It's due this month." Hermione nodded. "I'm really scared." She tapped her stomach gently. "I feel it moving a lot more often now. Sometimes when it kicks I feel like he might kick my stomach open or something. I'm rather paranoid about him."

"Him?" Harry paused. "How do you know? I thought you wanted it to be a surprise?"

"I just know it's a boy. I can _sense _it I suppose." Hermione shrugged. "Ron and I made a bet. If it's a girl I have to play Quidditch with him. How childish he is."

"I think it's a good deal. I'd love to see you even try to get on a broom and make it fly!" Ron snorted.

"And if Hermione's right, what do you get out of Ron? Not that there's much to get out of him anyway…" Harry teased. Ron gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"We're going to move back into my house in the Muggle world since my parents are gone for their vacation and he's going to have to cook food the Muggle way." Hermione explained.

"Are you sure you trust him with the cooking?" Harry joked.

"Hey, shut up!" Ron frowned. "You guys have no faith in me. I'll prove you wrong. I'LL SHOW YOU ALL!"

"Calm yourself Ronald. People are giving us strange looks." Hermione laughed.

Then, a couple entered the room. The boy had shaggy brown hair, wearing a navy blue shirt and jeans. The girl had red hair and was wearing a red shirt and white caprice. Harry could recognize that red hair anywhere. It was Ginny. He lowered himself into the seat, hoping she wouldn't see him.

"Well look who it is, it's my sister and another boy toy." Ron muttered. Hermione hit him on the shoulder. "What?"

Hermione just rolled her eyes. She looked at Ginny and her date. They were trying to find a seat. Ginny turned and saw Hermione and Ron looking at them. There was another figure, but she couldn't see it very well.

"There's an empty table right there." Hermione pointed. Ginny and the boy approached them and sat down the table beside Hermione's.

"Hello dear sister." Ron smirked.

Ginny ignored him. She leaned closer into the table and saw Harry, barely sitting on the chair because he was sinking so low, looking out the window with a smug look. "H – Hi Harry," she said feeling stupid.

Harry looked at her and turned pink. He sat up straight and recomposed himself. He didn't think that Ginny was actually going to talk to him. "Hi," he answered calmly.

"How are you?" She asked, trying to sound casual but there was still a hint of uneasiness in her voice. "I haven't seen you for awhile."

"Oh I'm great. I got a job at Hogwarts as the new Quidditch instructor." Harry answered.

"Quidditch instructor? Really? Great to meet you professor, I'm Andrew Domer from Ravenclaw." Ginny's date said excitedly. He reached to shake Harry's hand. Harry unsurely took his hand and shook it.

"Yeah, this is my new boy – uh – my friend, Andrew." Ginny blushed. She didn't want Harry to know she began to start dating again. She thought to herself that Harry doesn't care for her anymore and she decided that she should try to move on and start over.

Harry felt a twinge of pain in his chest. Jealousy all over again? Probably. "Nice to meet you," Harry cleared his throat. "I have to go the little boy's room. Excuse me." He stood up and walked away quickly.

"Geez Ginny. Way to mess it up again." Ron mumbled.

"Shut up Ron. You don't understand anything." Ginny cried angrily. "Let's go." She grabbed Andrew's hand and rushed out of the shop.

"Oh my gosh Ron, you always say the wrong things. Give her a damn break!" Hermione said angrily.

"Let's not start this argument again," Ron frowned. "You know I can't control myself from not saying what I think."

"Well it doesn't seem like you're trying hard to control it in the first place!" Hermione gritted her teeth. "Okay you know what, let's just stop. I don't want to fight."

"Neither do I. I'm sorry." Ron nodded. He didn't like seeing Hermione angry at him all the time.

"So am I, "Hermione smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

After a few minutes Harry finally came back. "Where'd they go?" He asked.

"They left after Ron – uh – something happened." Hermione told him. "Do you guys wanna go somewhere else?"

"Sure." Ron and Harry said in unison. As they left, they didn't realize that there was someone watching them just a few tables away, grinning to himself.


	15. Nothing is your fault

A/n: Well hello readers who decided to remain faithful to my rarely-updated fanfiction! I've been really busy for the past few weeks doing volunteer hours and going to parties and such, but now I finally found time to update Now or Never! I'll try my best to update more frequently, but it's not guaranteed. I'm really sorry for making you guys wait all the time…

This chapter focuses a lot more on Ginny..but it's still an R/H fic!

**Chapter Fourteen**

****

"Look I'm sorry if I embarrassed you back there with Professor Potter," Andrew began to apologize. He never realized how fast Ginny could walk and he had a hard time catching up with her.

Ginny stopped to catch her breath. She was getting tired of speed-walking, and she felt bad for Andrew. "No, it's not your fault at all. It's my idiot brother who never gives me a break about the whole breaking up with Harry bit."

"You went out with _the _Harry Potter?" Andrew said in awe. "You never told me about this…"

"I – I never found a reason to," Ginny shrugged. Andrew was giving her an unusual stare. "Besides it's not like you tell me about your past girlfriends." They began to make their way to an ice cream shop.

"As a matter of fact I do actually," Andrew frowned.

"Well I never asked about them, you just laid the information in front of me," Ginny muttered.

"Oh well I'm sorry for wanting you to know more about me," Andrew said in a sarcastic tone. He opened the door to the ice cream shop and headed to the counter.

"What may I serve you this lovely afternoon?" A plump, rosy-cheeked lady smiled widely.

"Cookies and Chocolate mint with almonds and Butter -" He began to order.

"I'm not hungry," Ginny said firmly. She was not in the mood for anything.

"Well then I'll just have that please," Andrew told the lady.

"Coming up in a jiffy," The cashier nodded. In a flash, she handed him a huge cone of green ice cream with almonds and bits of cookies. Then he followed Ginny to a table near the back. She took out her bag and started reading a magazine. He felt the atmosphere becoming more and more awkward every second.

"Look Andrew, I'm sorry about Harry ok? What do you want to know about us?" Ginny said after a long silence.

Andrew felt stupid. Why was he overreacting so badly anyway? It wasn't his business to know _every _single thing about Ginny. They only started dating about four weeks ago, and secretly. Ginny broke it off with Michael about two weeks after school had ended because she couldn't get over the whole Harry situation. However Michael was quite a persistent character, and he can't handle being dumped. He thought it would "ruin his reputation". Ginny couldn't handle him anymore and decided she needed to start over with something new. She and Andrew had been good friends since they were in their first years, but nothing more. She thought of him one day as she was looking at her small photo album and coincidentally received a letter from him the same day. He confessed his feelings for her, feelings that he had felt since he was in his 2nd year.

Ginny thought this was a good opportunity to start over again, but at the same time was scared of Michael. Most of all, she was still not over Harry. She had explained everything to Andrew about Michael, and how they would have to see each other secretly, but she never said a word about Harry. Finally when Michael "dumped" Ginny on Harry's birthday, they could finally see each other without any worries. But one thing that Ginny didn't mention to Andrew was that during the whole time they couldn't see each other, all she thought of was Harry. _It'll pass…I'm sure it will…this is just a phase I'm going through that's all. I'm doing the right thing. Besides, Andrew's a much better boyfriend than Michael. Quite good-looking too I might add. So the least I can do is give this a shot, _she thought to herself.

"I just wanna know why you didn't tell me about him that's all," Andrew said in between licks of his ice cream.

"I just don't wanna talk about him and me so much. Because ever since I broke up with him, everyone's treating me like I'm this evil bitch. They always rub it to my face at least once a day. Especially Ron. He never lets me forget it even for 5 minutes," Ginny replied. She wasn't lying, but she wasn't saying the whole truth either. _And I'm only using you to get over him, _she added in her thoughts.

"Oh, I'm sorry then," Andrew apologized sincerely. The last thing he wanted to do was make Ginny feel bad about herself.

"Stop apologizing! Nothing is your fault ok?" Ginny smiled weakly.

Andrew smiled back. Then he stretched his hand across the table to hold hers. "You are so…amazing. Sometimes I still can't believe that we're together."

Ginny felt guilty inside. Andrew was a great guy himself. With curly golden brown hair, hazel brown eyes, nice build and charming personality, he could get any girl he wanted. But here he was, sitting with Ginny and telling her how amazing she is; while on the other hand, all she could do was smile and blush.

"Well you better start believing soon!" She joked. He laughed and leaned closer to her.

"I love you so much," He whispered softly.

"I -" Ginny began to reply but he cut her off by kissing her softly and passionately. Well to _him _it was passionate. To her, it was just a kiss that didn't mean anything. She tried her best to feel the same way he does, and it works very rarely. And when it does work, she found herself thinking of Harry. She pulled away slowly and gave him a small smile. "I have to be getting home now. School starts tomorrow."

"Oh yeah that's true. How could I forget?" Andrew raised his eyebrows. "I'll go home with you."

Ginny stood up and tucked her hair behind her ears. "No it's ok I'll be fine. I'm kind of tired actually."

Andrew looked disappointed, but he knew that if Ginny wanted time alone, that's what she needed to get. "Alright then. I guess I'll see you at the train station?"

"Of course you will," Ginny nodded. She headed for the small, messy fireplace at the very back of the shop. "See you till then." She was about to turn around to face the fireplace when Andrew grabbed her waist and pulled her close.

"You're not leaving me without a kiss are you?" Andrew teased.

"O – Oh no, never," Ginny pouted. Inside her head, she was hoping she could. She wasn't in the mood for kissing or grabbing or any sort of physical activity.

Andrew kissed her fiercely and held her tightly. Then she backed up and smiled one last time and threw in the floo powder. "The Burrow!" And with that, she was gone.

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione were simply wandering around Diagon Alley.

"Well fellas, I guess I should be heading home to get some rest. Busy day tomorrow you know," Harry said as Hermione and Ron sat on a bench, tired from walking.

"Oh very well Harry. I hope you have an excellent first day. Say hi to professor McGonagall, and Dumbledore, and Sprout, and Flitwick, and Slyverson, and -"

"I think Harry would prefer teaching than running around and doing errands for you Hermione," Ron snorted. "He probably won't even know half the teachers you'd want to say hello to. Oh yeah I just thought of something. Why did school start late this year? The students should've been in school two weeks ago."

"Don't you read the paper Ron?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes…not very often…no…" Ron confessed.

"Well Ronald, I told you before and you simply told me to be quiet because you couldn't concentrate on counting your Quidditch trading cards!" Hermione shook her head.

"My cards are very important to me! You know that very well!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ok, ok settle down you two," Harry said exasperatedly. "Since Malfoy broke out of Azkaban Dumbledore's taking extra precautions. He has a feeling that Malfoy can strike anywhere inside Hogwarts. Dumbledore decided to make Hogwarts feel more secure for the sake of the students and the parents. There's also the fact that Malfoy has many friends and connections because of his oh-so-wonderful father."

"Ohhhh…" Ron nodded. "Well I'm sure everyone in Hogwarts will be safe with him around. But I'm not sure about people out of Hogwarts." He looked at Hermione.

"I'm scared too you know." Hermione said softly.

"You shouldn't be. We're always here for you Herm," Harry put his hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezed it.

"I know," Hermione smiled gratefully.

"Well I best be going now then, drop by Hogwarts sometime for a visit," Harry waved goodbye. He climbed on his broom and prepared to take off.

"Harry, why don't you just disapparate and apparate? It's much faster and -" Hermione suggested.

"He's a quidditch player Hermione, what do you expect?" Ron rolled his eyes. "We'll come by for sure Har. See you soon!"

"Take care," Harry nodded. He waved once more and took off.

A/n: Well that was a pretty long chapter if I do say so myself. A lot of explaining about things and talking. If you got confused over why Ginny's going out with Andrew…well…just ask me in one of your reviews and I'll answer it on the next chapter (which I hope will be out by Friday or Saturday). Thanks so much to the people who still read this! ****


	16. The Fox

A/n: Hi. That's all I can really say…

**Chapter Fifteen**

A white fox leaped from tree trunk to tree trunk, trying to escape the hungry mountain lion. It had been running for about fifteen minutes, and the lion did not seem fazed or tired at all. The fox jumped in the cool stream, and kicked a couple of rocks behind him. This merely angered the lion, who charged at it more fiercely than ever. The fox looked ahead, and realized that there was a small rabbit hole about ten meters away. It forced its fatigued legs, and quickly entered the small hole. The lion angrily followed it, but realized the hole was too small for its massive size. It reached its paw inside, trying to fish the cunning fox out, but with no success. After a few moments, the lion finally decided to give up and hunt for something else.

As for the fox, he found five baby rabbits inside. He was more than delighted to devour them, and decided to wait for their mother to return. After eating her, he was satisfied. He hadn't eaten all day, so the rabbits filled him up nicely. He licked his paws clean and stepped out of the hole when he felt it was safe. He stretched his legs and shook his coat. Slowly, this fox began to take the form of a man. A man with white-blonde hair, pale silver eyes, and dark thoughts.

Draco Malfoy regained his composure, and covered his face with his hat. Since school started, he realized how this opened several opportunities for him. He walked towards a small hut, similar to Hagrid's, and barged the door open. He found two lazy men, drinking wine.

"What are you idiots doing?" he demanded.

The two men shot up. "I – uh - we were just – taking a break," one stammered while the other nodded.

"Did you get what I asked for?" Draco asked.

"Yes sir, we got the ingredients for the polyjuice potion," the other replied.

"Did you _make _the potion?"

They looked at each other in embarrassment. "We didn't remember how…"

"You pathetic morons," Malfoy rolled his eyes. "At least you got the ingredients I'll give you some credit for that. Crabbe, hand me a cauldron. Goyle, take the ingredients out."

He shoved all the pots and pans out of a wooden table while Goyle and Crabbe did as they were told.

"Now you _did _get a piece of Ron Weasel right?" Malfoy raised his eyebrows.

"We're not quite sure… it's either his or his mum's," Goyle couldn't look at Malfoy in the eye.

"Well that doesn't matter, because one of you is going to drink it," Malfoy sneered. This caused Crabbe and Goyle to look at each other nervously. Malfoy carefully added and mixed all the ingredients together. The shack was filled with a disgusting smell. "Here, drink up!"

Crabbe and Goyle played bloody knuckles to decide who would drink the potion, and after many loud yells and bruised knuckles, it was Crabbe who had to face the consequences. He swallowed the potion quickly and his face looked like he had just seen professor Dumbledore naked.

"Here's more of the potion for later use," Draco placed three bottles in Crabbe's robes. "Now let's see what you're turning into."

Crabbe gripped his throat and fell to the floor. Slowly, his hair grew red and long. Freckles appeared on his chubby face (which grew smaller), and his body began to take shape. Finally Draco and Goyle burst out laughing.

"Looking good Mrs. Weasley," Goyle laughed.

"I _knew _those weren't his toenail clippings!" Crabbe said in a high-pitched voice.

Then Draco ordered, "Now you know what you have to do. Goyle, find the real Mrs. Weasley, petrify her, do whatever, and just get rid of her. Then Crabbe, you ask to see Hermione and tell your lame excuse for a son to run an errand of some sort. When you have Hermione alone, you give her this sleeping draft -" Draco took out another small bottle. "– I even labeled it for you in case you get them mixed up. Then you hide the baby somewhere, casually walk out of St. Mungo's, and apparate somewhere around here. I'll know when you're here."

"Can't we just turn into our animagus?" Crabbe asked.

"No, because your animagus is a turtle, and Goyle's is a parrot," Draco replied in a harsh tone. "Just do what I say, and don't screw up this time. I expect you to be here at this time tomorrow." And with that, Draco's body became smaller, his hair turned white, his ears became pointy and his hands and feet turned into paws. He looked at his dumbfounded followers and took off into the night.

---------------------------------

"Hermione just push!" Molly encouraged. "You can do it!"

"AHH!" Hermione screamed. She was wet with sweat from head to toe, and in pain. "I can't do this Molly!"

"Come on Hermione! You don't want it stuck halfway do you?" Ron added, squeezing Hermione's hand tightly.

"Don't say such things Ronald!" Molly said. "Just a little bit more Hermione!"

"AHHH!" Hermione cried.

"The head is out Ms. Granger! Just keep pushing!" The doctor told her.

"AHHH!"

And finally, after fifteen minutes of hard labor, Hermione held her precious baby, tears in her eyes.

"He's so beautiful," she whispered. The baby wasn't even crying. It slumbered peacefully, not a care in the world.

"Yes he is dear, he's quite the sight," Molly agreed.

"You need some rest Ms. Granger, and so does the baby. We'll take him to you in a few hours," a kind nurse told her.

"Thank you," Hermione smiled weakly. She felt incredibly tired, and the thought of sleep appealed to her.

"He'll be fine Hermione," Ron smiled. "Any thoughts on a name yet?"

"No, but maybe something will come to me in my dreams," Hermione said.

"Whatever you say, but I think Ron Junior doesn't sound too bad," Ron joked. He kissed Hermione's forehead. "Well get some sleep, I'll just be sitting here, reading some magazines."

Hermione nodded and closed her eyes, feeling exhausted but happy.


End file.
